Foldable hard air refueling pod

Abstract

The invention provides a foldable hard air refueling pod, and belongs to the technical field of air refueling, the refueling pod comprises a pod body, the upper part of the pod body is provided with a hanger for connecting the refueling pod and a refueling machine body, and the lower part of the pod body is provided with an opening; the refueling rod retracting and releasing assembly is arranged on the cabin body and used for refueling the oil receiver; one end of the retractable rope is connected to the tail end of the cabin body, the other end of the retractable rope is connected to the retractable refueling rod assembly, and the retractable rope is used for achieving vertical adjustment of the retractable refueling rod assembly during refueling operation; the binocular camera is arranged behind the refueling pod and is used for monitoring the state of the tail end of the refueling rod retracting and releasing assembly and the state of the oil receiving machine in the refueling operation and measuring the relative position between the tail end of the refueling rod retracting and releasing assembly and the oil receiving opening at the same time; and the laser radar is arranged between the binocular cameras behind the refueling pod, and is used for measuring the relative space position between the tail end of the refueling rod retracting and releasing assembly behind the refueling pod and the oil receiver during refueling operation and fusing the relative space position with the result of the binocular cameras.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of aerial refueling design, and in particular to a foldable rigid aerial refueling pod. Background Art

[0002] Aerial refueling technology enables a tanker to inject fuel into one or more receiving aircraft in a high-altitude environment. The rigid telescopic refueling rod mechanism is the key mechanism for the tanker to perform aerial refueling for the receiving aircraft. The existing rigid telescopic refueling rod device is usually hoisted at the tail of the tanker, and there is no integrated aerial refueling pod equipment specifically for storing the refueling rod. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present application is to provide a foldable rigid aerial refueling pod to solve or alleviate at least one problem in the background technology.

[0004] The technical solution of the present application is: a foldable rigid aerial refueling pod, comprising:

[0005] A cabin, wherein the upper portion of the cabin is provided with a hanger for connecting the refueling pod to the tanker body, and the lower portion of the cabin is provided with an opening for accommodating the retractable refueling rod;

[0006] A retractable refueling rod assembly, which is arranged on the cabin and is used to refuel the receiving aircraft;

[0007] A retractable rope, one end of which is connected to the tail end of the cabin and the other end is connected to the retractable refueling rod assembly. When refueling, the retractable refueling rod assembly can be adjusted up and down by controlling the length of the retractable rope;

[0008] A binocular camera, which is arranged at the rear of the refueling pod and whose shooting plane is flush with the oblique plane at the rear of the pod, so as to monitor the state of the end of the retractable refueling rod assembly and the receiving aircraft at the rear during the refueling operation. At the same time, the binocular camera measures the relative position between the end of the retractable refueling rod assembly and the refueling port;

[0009] A laser radar is arranged between the binocular cameras at the rear of the refueling pod. During the refueling operation, the laser radar measures the relative spatial position between the end of the retractable refueling rod assembly at the rear and the receiving aircraft and fuses the results with those of the binocular cameras.

[0010] Preferably, the cabin body has an outer shape of a shuttle-shaped structure that is thin at both sides and thick in the middle.

[0011] Preferably, a control cabin is formed in the pylon, and the control cabin is equipped with a retracting and discharging motor for controlling the retracting and releasing of the rope, a refueling mission control circuit for controlling the V-shaped wing, and a computing device for processing laser radar and binocular camera data.

[0012] Preferably, the retractable refueling rod assembly includes a retractable large arm, a retractable small arm, a V-shaped wing and a telescopic tube, the retractable large arm and the retractable small arm are connected in sequence, the V-shaped wing is arranged on the retractable small arm, and the telescopic tube is arranged at the end of the retractable small arm.

[0013] Preferably, the head end of the retractable arm is a double-headed plug structure with a radial protrusion, and the tail end is a double-ear structure to form an upper fork ear joint. The head end of the retractable arm is arranged on the cabin body through the double-headed plug structure, and can perform rotational freedom movement through the driving motor, thereby realizing the folding and lowering of the retractable arm.

[0014] Preferably, the retractable arm includes an outer tube body and an inner sleeve, the telescopic tube is arranged in the inner sleeve and can slide relatively, the inner sleeve and the telescopic tube cooperate to realize the extension and retraction of the end of the refueling rod, and the head end of the retractable arm is provided with a lower fork ear plug, and the head end of the retractable arm is connected to the tail end of the retractable arm through a multi-rotation joint.

[0015] Preferably, the multi-rotation joint includes an inner rolling joint and an outer rolling joint, the inner rolling joint is connected to the upper fork ear joint of the retractable arm, the inner rolling joint is arranged on the inner side of the outer rolling joint, and the outer rolling joint is connected to the lower fork ear plug at the head end of the retractable arm. The inner rolling joint cooperates with the outer rolling joint to enable the retractable arm to realize rolling movement relative to the retractable arm, and the outer rolling joint cooperates with the lower fork ear joint to realize the retracting and lowering of the retractable arm relative to the retractable arm.

[0016] Preferably, when the aircraft is flying, the windward angle of the V-shaped wing is controlled to achieve the left-right movement direction of the entire retractable refueling rod assembly, so that the retractable refueling rod assembly is aligned with the receiving aircraft.

[0017] Preferably, the retractable rope is a steel cable.

[0018] Preferably, a manual control button for retracting and releasing the rope is arranged on the rear panel of the cabin body, so as to realize manual retraction and release of the rope in an emergency.

[0019] The foldable aerial refueling pod provided in the present application integrates the refueling equipment, control devices, and monitoring devices required for hard refueling missions into a retractable refueling pod, which can be quickly installed on a variety of aircraft to transform them into hard refueling aircraft, and can also be quickly maintained on the ground by ground maintenance personnel. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution provided by the present application, the following is a brief introduction to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application.

[0021] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of the foldable rigid aerial refueling pod (in unfolded state) of the present application.

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the retractable refueling rod assembly of the present application.

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the foldable rigid aerial refueling pod (folded state) of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the implementation of this application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be described in more detail below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of this application.

[0025] The invention of the present application provides a foldable rigid aerial refueling pod having the functions of storing a refueling rod, autonomously retracting and extending the refueling rod, controlling refueling with the refueling rod, and monitoring a receiving aircraft. It can reasonably utilize the pod space, integrate the mission devices required for the rigid aerial refueling tanker side, and realize autonomous rigid aerial refueling.

[0026] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the foldable rigid aerial refueling pod provided by the present application includes: a pod body 10, a retractable refueling rod assembly 20, a retractable rope 30, a double-sided camera 40 and a laser radar 50.

[0027] Among them, the cabin 10 includes a cabin shell, which meets the overall aerodynamic requirements of the aircraft after the refueling pod is installed. In this application, the cabin shell adopts a shuttle-shaped structure with thin sides and thick middle. The upper part is provided with a hanger 11 for connecting the refueling pod and the tanker body, which can be hoisted on multiple types of aircraft to realize aerial refueling tasks. The hanger 11 forms a control cabin inside, and the control cabin is equipped with a retracting and discharging motor required for retracting and releasing the rope 30, a refueling task control circuit, and a data processing and computing device for the laser radar 50 and the binocular camera 40. The lower part of the cabin shell is provided with an opening for accommodating the retracting and releasing of the refueling rod 20.

[0028] The retractable refueling rod assembly 20 includes a retractable large arm 21 , a retractable small arm 22 , a V-shaped wing 23 and a telescopic tube 24 .

[0029] like Figure 2 As shown, the head end of the retractable arm 21 is a double-head plug structure 211 with radial protrusions, and the tail end is a double-ear structure forming an upper fork ear joint 212. The head end of the retractable arm 211 is arranged on the cabin 10 through the double-head plug structure 211, and can move with rotational freedom through the driving motor, thereby realizing the folding and lowering of the retractable arm 21.

[0030] The retractable arm 22 is composed of an outer tube body 221 and an inner sleeve 222. The telescopic tube 24 is arranged in the inner sleeve 222. The two can slide relative to each other. The inner sleeve 22 and the telescopic tube 24 cooperate to realize the extension and retraction of the end of the refueling rod. The head end of the retractable arm 22 is provided with a lower fork ear plug 233. The head end of the retractable arm 22 is connected to the tail end of the retractable arm 21 through a multi-rotation joint 25.

[0031] The multi-rotation joint includes an inner rolling joint 251 and an outer rolling joint 252, wherein the inner rolling joint 251 is connected to the upper fork ear joint 212 of the retractable arm 21, the inner rolling joint 251 is arranged inside the outer rolling joint 25, and the outer rolling joint 252 is connected to the lower fork ear plug 233 at the head end of the retractable arm 22. The retractable arm 22 can achieve rolling motion relative to the retractable arm 21 through the cooperation of the inner and outer rolling joints, and the retractable arm 22 can be retracted and lowered relative to the retractable arm 21 through the cooperation of the outer rolling joint 252 and the lower fork ear joint 223.

[0032] The telescopic tube 24 is hidden inside the retractable arm 21 when in a non-extended state, and is extended according to the position of the receiving machine and the end of the refueling rod during refueling operation.

[0033] The V-shaped wing 23 is arranged above the end of the retractable arm 22. When the aircraft is flying, the windward angle of the V-shaped wing 23 is controlled to realize the left and right movement direction of the retractable refueling rod assembly 20 as a whole, so that the retractable refueling rod assembly 20 can be aimed at the receiving aircraft. The windward angle of the V-shaped wing 23 is realized by the refueling task control circuit inside the cabin 10.

[0034] One end of the retractable rope 30 is connected to the rear end of the cabin 10, and the other end is connected to the upper end of the retractable arm 22. During the refueling operation, the length of the retractable rope 30 is controlled by the retractable motor in the cabin 10 to achieve the up and down adjustment of the retractable refueling rod assembly 20. In some embodiments of the present application, the retractable rope 30 is a steel cable to improve safety.

[0035] The binocular camera 40 is arranged at the rear of the refueling pod, and its shooting plane is flush with the inclined plane at the rear of the pod 10, so as to monitor the status of the end of the retractable refueling rod assembly 20 and the receiving machine during the refueling operation. At the same time, the binocular camera 40 can also measure the relative position between the end of the retractable refueling rod assembly 20 and the refueling port.

[0036] The laser radar 50 is arranged between the binocular cameras at the rear of the refueling pod, and can measure the relative spatial position between the end of the retractable refueling rod assembly 20 at the rear and the receiving aircraft during the refueling operation and fuse it with the results of the binocular cameras 40.

[0037] In a preferred embodiment of the present application, a manual control button for retracting and releasing the rope 30 is also arranged on the rear panel of the cabin 10, so that the manual retraction and release of the rope 30 can be realized in an emergency situation.

[0038] The foldable aerial refueling pod provided in the present application integrates the refueling equipment, control devices, and monitoring devices required for hard refueling missions into a retractable refueling pod, which can be quickly installed on a variety of aircraft to transform them into hard refueling aircraft, and can also be quickly maintained on the ground by ground maintenance personnel.

[0039] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A foldable rigid aerial refueling pod, characterized in that: include: A cabin, wherein the upper portion of the cabin is provided with a hanger for connecting the refueling pod to the tanker body, and the lower portion of the cabin is provided with an opening for accommodating the retractable refueling rod; A retractable refueling rod assembly, which is arranged on the cabin and is used to refuel the receiving aircraft; A retractable rope, one end of which is connected to the tail end of the cabin and the other end is connected to the retractable refueling rod assembly. When refueling, the retractable refueling rod assembly can be adjusted up and down by controlling the length of the retractable rope; A binocular camera, which is arranged at the rear of the refueling pod and whose shooting plane is flush with the oblique plane at the rear of the pod, so as to monitor the state of the end of the retractable refueling rod assembly and the receiving aircraft at the rear during the refueling operation. At the same time, the binocular camera measures the relative position between the end of the retractable refueling rod assembly and the refueling port; A laser radar is arranged between the binocular cameras at the rear of the refueling pod. During the refueling operation, the laser radar measures the relative spatial position between the end of the retractable refueling rod assembly at the rear and the receiving aircraft and fuses the results with those of the binocular cameras.

2. The foldable rigid aerial refueling pod according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cabin body adopts a shuttle-shaped structure with thin sides and thick middle.

3. The foldable rigid aerial refueling pod according to claim 2, characterized in that: A control cabin is formed in the pylon, and the control cabin is equipped with a retracting and discharging motor for controlling the retracting and releasing of the rope, a refueling mission control circuit for controlling the V-shaped wing, and a computing device for processing laser radar and binocular camera data.

4. The foldable rigid aerial refueling pod according to claim 1, characterized in that: The retractable refueling rod assembly includes a retractable large arm, a retractable small arm, a V-shaped wing and a telescopic tube. The retractable large arm and the retractable small arm are connected in sequence. The V-shaped wing is arranged on the retractable small arm, and the telescopic tube is arranged on the end of the retractable small arm.

5. The foldable rigid aerial refueling pod according to claim 4, characterized in that: The front end of the retractable arm is a double-headed plug structure with a radial protrusion, and the rear end is a double-ear structure to form an upper fork ear joint. The front end of the retractable arm is arranged on the cabin body through the double-headed plug structure, and can perform rotational freedom movement through the driving motor, thereby realizing the folding and lowering of the retractable arm.

6. The foldable rigid aerial refueling pod according to claim 5, characterized in that: The retractable arm includes an outer tube body and an inner sleeve, the telescopic tube is arranged in the inner sleeve and can slide relatively, the inner sleeve and the telescopic tube cooperate to realize the extension and retraction of the end of the refueling rod, the head end of the retractable arm is provided with a lower fork ear plug, and the head end of the retractable arm is connected to the tail end of the retractable arm through a multi-rotation joint.

7. The foldable rigid aerial refueling pod according to claim 6, characterized in that: The multi-rotation joint includes an inner rolling joint and an outer rolling joint, the inner rolling joint is connected to the upper fork ear joint of the retractable arm, the inner rolling joint is arranged on the inner side of the outer rolling joint, and the outer rolling joint is connected to the lower fork ear plug at the head end of the retractable arm. The inner rolling joint cooperates with the outer rolling joint to enable the retractable arm to realize rolling movement relative to the retractable arm, and the outer rolling joint cooperates with the lower fork ear joint to realize the retracting and lowering of the retractable arm relative to the retractable arm.

8. The foldable rigid aerial refueling pod according to claim 4, characterized in that: When the aircraft is flying, the windward angle of the V-shaped wing is controlled to achieve the left and right movement direction of the entire retractable refueling rod assembly, so that the retractable refueling rod assembly is aimed at the receiving aircraft.

9. The foldable rigid aerial refueling pod according to claim 1, characterized in that: The retractable rope is a steel cable.

10. The foldable rigid aerial refueling pod according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rear panel of the cabin is provided with a manual control button for retracting and releasing the rope, which is used to realize manual retraction and release of the rope in an emergency.

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